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Whether school board members should have to give 48 hours’ notice before visiting a school is a question that has split the Denver school board.
One side says the 48-hour notice is a sign of respect. The other says such a requirement can get in the way of transparency.
At issue is a three-sentence policy the board adopted in 2021. It says school board members should notify the Denver Public Schools chief of staff and the board liaison at least 48 hours before visiting any schools, that the superintendent can ask some of his staff to tag along, and that such visits should “not disrupt school operations.”
The policy came up for a review earlier this month, and a pair of board members suggested some minor tweaks. But on Wednesday, Vice President Monica Hunter, a former DPS teacher, proposed a bigger change: nixing the policy’s 48-hour requirement. After several rounds of debate, the board decided to postpone the decision until next month.
Hunter said earlier this month that she’s concerned the requirement could keep board members from visiting schools “that would love to have us.”
“As a classroom teacher, I can tell you I had folks — from the district, even — in my classroom all the time, often with no heads up,” Hunter said. “This is just that same level of transparency. It’s not made to have a gotcha moment or to try and disrupt the day.”
Board member John Youngquist, a former DPS principal, agreed. He went a step further and suggested revoking the entire policy and conducting visits “as the district had engaged for 145 years, prior to this being a policy” — an idea that didn’t gain traction.
But some board members pushed back, both on Wednesday and when they first discussed the proposed changes two weeks ago. Board member Kimberlee Sia, the former CEO of a Denver charter school network, said that even if current board members promise to be courteous on school visits, the rules should be in place in case future board members are not.
Board member Marlene De La Rosa said it’s disrespectful for a board member to visit a school without giving the principal advanced warning.
“It implies we are trying to show up to find something that’s negative,” she said.
Board President Xóchitl Gaytán said it’s especially disrespectful toward Latino principals. She used a metaphor to illustrate why, explaining that in Spanish, “tú” is used to address someone younger than yourself and “usted” is used to address elders or authority figures.
“When we remove the 48-hour notice, it’s also a sign of disrespect because we’re saying, ‘I’m going to speak to you in the tú form and I’m not going to have respect for you in the usted form,’” Gaytán said.
But board member DJ Torres cautioned against “speaking on behalf of a monolithic Latino community,” which he said doesn’t exist.
“I’m also Latino, and that’s not a value I share,” he said. “I also value and believe deeply in transparency. … How we all experience transparency is different.”
Moira Coogan, principal of the North Engagement Center and president of the Denver School Leaders Association, told the board earlier this month that the principals union supports keeping the 48-hour notice. A more informal approach to school visits “may unintentionally create confusion or operational challenges,” Coogan said.
The board is set to further discuss the policy, known officially as Governance Process Policy 9.5, at its June 4 meeting.
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.
